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Fantasy Football: Not Your Typical Hobby

For the love of the game, Fantasy Football provides sanity for those itching for the start of football season to begin. Giving fans a sense of purpose, Fantasy Football allows those who sit in front of the television every Sunday, screaming, yelling, crying and laughing, to be in the driver’s seat of their own team. Every fan of the game at some point thinks they know better than the coach, owner, and players, so being in control of the day to day operations of your fantasy powerhouse gives them a true sense of management.

Fantasy Football: An Alternate Reality

Fantasy Football is given the name because of the ‘alternate-reality’ aspect of its take on football. Yes, putting the power of deciding which players to draft, trade, and start, into the hands of a random person is quite the definition of ‘fantasy’, but as a whole, it is far from it. With money on the line, prizes to be won, risks to be made, trades to be developed, and friendships possibly broken, Fantasy Football is as intense of a hobby as it gets.

The Beginning: NFL Draft

Once the clock starts ticking during the NFL draft in April, the fantasy scouts come out of the shadows. Analyzing the new draftees, comparing scheduling conflicts, and preparing for the pre-season is just the beginning to this process. Yes it is exciting to see what new superstars will emerge and what sleepers will flourish, but the process to get to this point is one that requires tons of preparation. Preparation is the key to fantasy football. You need know to know what defenses the players are facing throughout the year, what bye weeks players have so that they don’t intertwine on your starting lineup, etc. There are so many variables that go into putting out the best possible team, week after week, and one misstep can cause an apocalyptic meltdown.

Simplistic Ideas

The simplest of things can cause the downfall of your franchise. Obviously, due to certain people’s availability, the day of the draft can occur all across the month of August and even early September. The closest date before the start of the season is the best time to hold your league’s draft because of the possibility of your chosen players facing injuries during training camp and preseason. If you take advantage of this simple suggestion, your team has the best chance to acquire players that you have had the opportunity to read up on and examine, and determine the status of their health and potential.

Attention to Detail

Paying attention to detail is the key to success in the dangerous game of Fantasy Football. Big names and players on good teams may cloud your judgement when deciding who to choose from during your fantasy draft. You must regain your chi (stupid Iron Fist reference) and focus on important details such as yearly statistics, bye weeks, and conference match ups. If you find consistency with yearly statistics, you’ll gain a much firmer grasp on which players stand out and the great players will be easy to seek out. Bye weeks are another vital component to the Fantasy Football koolaid.

Bye Week Importance

Too many players on your roster with similar bye weeks basically means throwing in the towel when those players have to sit. During a player’s bye week, the owner starts bench players to replace them, but in the case of having too many players with the same bye week, you may not have enough bench players to make up for the slack and this can cause you to release/drop members of your team that you weren’t originally prepared to do. Taking care of another simple observation such as this allows you strategic advantage over your opponents.

Divisional Match-ups

Divisional Match-ups can be of the utmost importance to claiming your fantasy football throne, and I’m not talking about your generalized divisional match-ups. It’s about analyzing the teams the players you want to draft play for, and understanding the level of difficulty their schedules entail. For example, if you’re a fan of the New York Jets, you are well aware the divisional match-ups they face are the Dolphins, Bills, and Patriots, since all four teams are in the AFC East.

Each year, the Jets play the Dolphins, Bills, and Patriots twice, as well as a few random AFC teams and a specific division from the AFC and the NFC. This season, the Jets play the entire NFC South, consisting of the Panthers, Falcons, Buccaneers, and Saints, all of which don’t play defense extremely well. In this case, if you do your research, and realize that the Jets play the NFC South where there aren’t many competent defenses, then you should draft some offensive players from the Jets. This is yet another example of how research and studying can help accumulate the best possible Fantasy Football team.

Anything Can Happen

Fantasy Football is a game that involves strategy, dedication, and persistence. For something that doesn’t pay your bills, Fantasy Football is a wildly popular game that requires plenty of time and preparation. Usually leagues with your friends can be super competitive, especially if you’re all fans of the game, and this can lead to difficulties with having a successful season. This isn’t always the case, as there is still room for luck and chance. Every snap of an NFL game is like a coin flip and you never know which side is going to come out victorious. Absolutely anything can occur at any point in time, no matter the previous scenario. Just remember to have fun, and know that at any given moment, anything can happen.